


My Top 10 Favorite Damon/Elena Scenes (Season Four)

by badboy_fangirl



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 19:49:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10793553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badboy_fangirl/pseuds/badboy_fangirl
Summary: Title self-explanatory





	My Top 10 Favorite Damon/Elena Scenes (Season Four)

In an effort to help myself really narrow it down, I made my criteria very specific: I had to choose the scene based on where editing causes the scene to end (i.e. the Blood Sharing scene in 4x02 is a continuous scene from Elena approaching Damon in the bar to their encounter in the bathroom without a storyline change; one of the scenes I chose in 4x07 had to end because of the editing cut to Stefan and Caroline). Also, I wanted to approach each scene from both characters' POVs, so undoubtedly it will get a little long-winded.

I could make a similar post for every shared scene of theirs, but honorable mention has to go to a couple scenes that I didn't get to address, specifically Damon bringing Elena a clean dress in 4x02 and their sweet exchange over who is going to take the Cure in 4x23. I really, really, REALLY should have made it at least a Top 12 list, or possibly even a Top 15, but the madness has to stop somewhere. ;-)

**[10] _Oh, God, Matt! / That's Emotion, Elena. That's Humanity_  
[from 4x20 "She's Come Undone"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/americanoutlaw/media/TVD/S3%20stills/104x20_zps35558c7b.gif.html)

Some shippers wanted Damon to be the *reason* Elena turned her emotions back on -- even I, foolishly for a bit, thought that would be an amazing way of bringing our girl back, but I quickly came to see that the way it happened is so much better, and here's why: One of the things that's most enjoyable about Damon and Elena is their full transparency with each other; from the beginning their connection has been obvious. And this scene is so brilliant because Damon figures it out. He figures out what will bring her back: EXACTLY what took her away. Death. And Damon understands what it is to lose your _friend_. And he picked Matt, because of everyone that's left, Matt is the most innocent, so it would be more poignant for Elena. Sure, Bonnie, even Caroline, perhaps Damon or Stefan's *deaths* could have been jarring enough to bring her back, but really what it's all about is Elena calling Damon's bluff. 

Because when has Damon _ever_ bluffed? That's right, NEVER. Deep inside, in that place where Elena's humanity burned like an eternal flame, she knew he would kill Matt. She had already *saved* Matt from Damon once before. She knows exactly how ruthless Damon is, especially when it comes to her. So there was exactly one person really shocked by this event, and that was Stefan, who was out of the loop, of course. 

Damon was the reason Elena switched off, and the reason she switched back on--because he's the smartest guy in the room.

**[9] _I Shouldn't Be Here With HIM / She Already IS Like Me_  
[from 4x04 "The Five"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/americanoutlaw/media/TVD/S3%20stills/94x04_zps99a8e7f8.gif.html)

The scenes that proceed this one are very good (Damon teaching Elena how to hunt, snatch, feed, erase, and assuring her she's not going to be a Ripper), but this one is my favorite (and would be on a Top 10 List of Best Damon Moments for me) because Damon says everything that is TRUE about vampirism. And you can see it all over Elena's face. Her biggest concern isn't that she's feeding on people, it's that she's doing it _with Damon_. It's that everything she does now seems to bring her closer to him, and he is the ultimate scary thing in her life. Being a vampire is going to be tough; loving Damon Salvatore will be _tougher_. Because of all the judgment that will follow. Elena knows that because she already judges herself so harshly. 

Having Damon spell it out, what being a vampire really is, and the fact that he has managed to be one who can _not_ kill when he so chooses, is a huge moment for both characters. Damon's truth is Elena's truth because they are so similar; she will still need time to digest, but she will get there, eventually.

**[8] _I Think I Need Your Help / Just Don't Tell Stefan_  
[from 4x02 "Memorial"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/americanoutlaw/media/TVD/S3%20stills/84x02_zpsd98dad82.gif.html)

Elena's implicit trust of Damon here is another well-laid foundation block in their relationship. She will later tell Stefan that she went to Damon because she "thought he would understand" which implies that she doesn't think Stefan would. Stefan understands what it's like to be a vampire, of course, and his coping mechanisms are shady at best, but Elena is specifically referring to how _she_ is as a vampire. Damon will understand this because Damon is like her. Damon will help her, even though she's broken his heart, and shunned his advice up till this point, and Damon will always give her unconditional love. Elena can count on this, and she knows it. So she goes to him with a fake concern so she can get what she really needs.

Damon, for his part, is a little shady, too. He knows his offering is going to piss his brother off, so he warns Elena not to tell. (He saves that for himself, the delightful bastard.) But, he has also voiced his concerns, and his concerns turned out to be valid (whether it really is the sire bond or not doesn't matter, nobody knows about that at this juncture). He tries to get her to feed on humans and she refuses, so the last option is him. And certainly he knows it will bring him pleasure, but in my head-canon for Damon, this is him at his masochistic best. He can't have Elena; Elena has chosen Stefan, so he will take what little bit he _can_ have, which is something akin to a quickie in the bathroom. The reality is pathetic and sad, just the way Damon tends to be when it comes to love. He has no idea it's going to pan out for him down the line.

**[7] _You Saved Me / I'm About To Take a Very High and Annoying Road_  
[from 4x06 "We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/americanoutlaw/media/TVD/S3%20stills/74x06_zpsd634caf6.gif.html)

This one was really hard to choose, because the scenes that precede it are so, so, SO beautiful--Damon knowing where Elena would be, and then going off the bridge with her, are, to me, some of the deepest aspects of their connection to one another. But that's the "show" part and the final scene between them in this episode is the "tell" part, but it's done so well, you don't even feel like they're telling you anything. They are just finally giving these two characters places in their arcs that they have worked so hard for--that they've truly earned. They both deserve to be at this place, sharing this moment, having eyes only for each other.

But I so love that Damon is sitting on the window seat when Elena wakes. Very unassuming, no entitlement, see? Read: still his brother's girl.

The pivotal part for Elena is that she has just discovered that she is worth saving, right when Damon saves her, like he's always wanted to, but for the most part has always been too late to do ever before. It's poetic that when she finally feels worthy of being saved, he finally gets to be the hero; the fact that these two things happen simultaneously make it such a beautiful moment. But, as usual, Damon takes it a step further by deferring to Stefan, and proving that ultimately, he really does just want Elena to be happy. And if being with Stefan, and understanding Stefan's motives will make her happy, he will not let her momentary hero-worship get the better of her _or_ him. This is the callback to what Damon's true character is: he cannot be selfish with Elena, even when she is sending him an engraved invitation to do so. And finally, for Elena, finding her own worth allows her to do what she really wants: end things with Stefan, and pursue things with Damon. [If I were ever to do a Top Ten Stefan/Elena list, their break-up on the porch would be my #1. So GOOD.]

**[6] _I Don't Think I've Ever Seen You More Alive /  
I Wanted To Dance With You Today_  
[from 4x07 "My Brother's Keeper"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/americanoutlaw/media/TVD/S3%20stills/64x07_zps877892c9.gif.html)

Let's start with Damon ACCEPTING Elena as she is. He loved her before, he would love her if she ever became human again, he'll love her, whatever form she's in. But his words for her aren't just _here, let me make you feel better_ remarks. He's seeing her as really is, because she's not hiding anymore. She really does seem more alive to him. And the small moment where they commiserate over their similar bro-sitches is one of those subtle endearing salutes to their shared older sibs status that I love.

Elena telling the truth about how she wanted to dance with him is interesting for two reasons. One is that when she danced with him for the first time a year before, she didn't know she wanted to, but by the end of the dance, she was aware of him in a different way. They had Stefan-business to attend to, so it was easier to ignore then, but this time she can't ignore it; more importantly, she doesn't want to. The second reason it's interesting is because Damon gives her heart's desire immediately. It's the least he can do, and as the gentle strains of Ed Sheeran's "Kiss Me" begin, the shipper's dream comes true... _finally!_ But first they just hold each other for a few moments, their foreheads coming together, and the _rightness_ of it all just shimmers.

**[5] _I Have To Do the Right Thing By You / Does This Feel Wrong?_  
[from 4x08 "We'll Always Have Bourbon Street"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/americanoutlaw/media/TVD/S3%20stills/54x08_zps675a0130.gif.html)

Damon and Elena are always enjoyable, but on some level they are just a little better when they are so angsty they are ripping your heart out. So, if I were doing an angst only list, this scene would be higher up on it. 

Damon doesn't have many principles. He doesn't hold himself to a high standard, and for the most part he doesn't expect all that much of anyone. But Elena changed everything--she brought him back to an occasional led-by-his-conscience existence. What it especially impressed upon him that this girl, this _one_ special girl who looks like Katherine and sometimes acts like her, deserves to be treated in all the ways he's failed to treat anyone since Sage taught him about the pleasures of women.

He basked in the joy of making love with Elena, in the joy of waking up with her, in the joy of one secret selfish day, only to realize he should have known it was too good to be true. Elena insisting that nothing has changed is exactly the reason Damon has come there to talk to her, so determined to "do the right thing." Everything has changed between them, and he has to make sure it's real.

I love Elena here because there has been so little for her to be happy about, especially since she became a vampire, but really for the entire year and a half of her life prior to this, and she just wants to hold on to that happiness. She wants that face of Damon's, the one that's echoed in her heart all day, to be their reality. And who can blame her? 

And with another perfectly placed song, Morning Parade's "Speechless" leads us out of this scene with the haunting lyric _just twenty seconds until you're no longer mine..._ and gives us the unfinished final scene that may be my favorite ending of a TVD episode ever.

**[4] _I Love You, Damon / *...*_  
[from 4x10 "After School Special"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/americanoutlaw/media/TVD/S3%20stills/44x10_zpscf96b6cd.gif.html)

Okay, so the reason this is so perfect is because it's a juxtaposition of their phone call scene in 3x22. It's a beautiful scene on its own, and the acting, especially Ian's, is so amazing I could go on and on about it, but I can't watch it without remembering that other phone call, and that makes the emotion in it so much more.

It's Elena saying what we've all known for a long time, what Damon has hoped for, for so long, what she has been forced to acknowledge. What it also is, however, is Elena ACCEPTING that she loves him, telling him she loves him, putting herself out there, even when the circumstances are terrible. She just can't let another moment go by without him knowing, even if that means he's still going to keep his distance. It was really this scene that made me realize the Damon and Elena union would be the *It's Us Against the World* kind of match, and it made me giddy. They've already proven they're a good team, and great friends. Now the way they will be romantic partners really begins to shape up. 

As another honorable mention must be made to the song selection here ("New York" by Snow Patrol), I have to say that TVD does this infinitely well, but I think this is my favorite ever, simply because the natural crescendo of what's happening in this scene matches up perfectly with the song. It makes the impact so swift, you understand why Damon sounds breathless when he finally regains his ability to speak.

**[3] _Red, Right, Elena? / You_  
[from 4x07 "My Brother's Keeper"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/americanoutlaw/media/TVD/S3%20stills/34x07_zps7463ba0c.gif.html)

So, this carries on from the end of 4x06 when Elena has finally accepted that she wants Damon, and has also apparently decided she _will_ have him. There is no other explanation for her telling him he's the reason she and Stefan broke up. She knows if she tells him, he will take that as a green light. And she _wants_ to tell him. And then he shows up, reminds her of the fact that he remembers all the tiny details of her life because he loves her, and she just can't wait a minute longer.

Damon gets regulated to the "showy, red dress" by the conversation that precedes his arrival, but we also glimpse the fact that while he will always love Elena, he's not sitting around expecting her to come tell him what she tells him. His genuine surprise is all the more endearing because of that. He has no agenda, he's got a shady professor to take down and a vampire hunter to create, and though he's concerned about the break-up and what that means for his brother, he didn't think for even one second it had anything to do with him. So, yay for lovely surprises, right?

**[2] _What's That Face? / I'm Happy_  
[from 4x08 "We'll Always Have Bourbon Street"]**

Elena has seen the many faces of Damon Salvatore--all the scary ones, all the sweet ones (the angry one, the determined one, the melty I'm-giving-into-you-against-my-better-judgment one, the unsettled one, the doubting one, the anguished one), but she hasn't seen this one before: The Joyful One. So she gets a glimpse, and she makes him say it because it's the feeling inside of her, and she wants to know he feels the same way. Of course he does, but it still pleases her beyond belief to hear him say it. And Damon wallows guilt-free in that exultant place, well rested, well loved, ready for another round because _he finally got the girl._

**[1] _I'm NOT Sorry / Fine, then I'm not sorry, either_  
[from 4x23 "Graduation"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/americanoutlaw/media/TVD/S3%20stills/14x23_zps9711cc9a.gif.html)

[The entire following blurb is mostly about ME, rather than Damon or Elena, please forgive me for the indulgence.]  
This scene. THIS SCENE. UGH x infinity. When I first started writing D/E fanfic, it was just to spend more time with them, to be in a place where they were mine to play with, where I could get them to kiss a whole lot faster than they did on this intrepid show. But when you do that, when you spend time creating in other people's sandboxes, you open yourself up to a lot of possible (and probable) disappointment. This isn't The Damon and Elena Show, and the writers have to create things for all their characters that are satisfying and come together well. When I write fic, though, that's what it becomes to me. But this scene was so superb, was so something I would have written, and then was so well executed by the supremely talented actors handling it, that all I could do was bask in the joy of knowing _I get them_. I understand them--I have been on this journey with them that has caused me to have certain expectations, and if I get nothing else from this show--if S5 turns out to be a bust somehow, they can never take this scene back. It will always be, from top to bottom, just what these two characters are: flawed and fucking gorgeous anyway. I love them in a completely UNhealthy manner, and I just don't care. Just like them, I'm _not_ sorry, and I never will be. I just hope to make a list like this next year before S6 starts.

My favorite part of the scene, besides _everything_ , is the expression on Elena's face as Damon comes to the end of his very heated speech. You can see the love mingling with pity, the understanding that she has that this boy is standing in front of her just desperately wanting to be loved, but he's completely unwilling to lie to achieve it. But she gives it to him anyway, because it's how she really feels, and it's what she really wants, and Elena is a person who does that now. She doesn't lie either, not about this, not to him, not to Stefan, not to herself, not anymore. ♥

 

[Written two weeks before s5 started]


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